


your soul could never grow old

by doubtthestars



Category: Football RPF
Genre: 31 fics and i still dont know how to tag, Footy Ficathon, Gen, M/M, Reincarnation, Soulmates, Souls, literal soulmates i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-05
Updated: 2015-02-05
Packaged: 2018-03-10 15:53:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3296114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doubtthestars/pseuds/doubtthestars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>People fall in love in mysterious ways.</p><p>Lukas Podolski and Bastian Schweinsteiger aren't the only times they have fallen in love with each other. They just don't remember that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	your soul could never grow old

**Author's Note:**

> I fall in love with you every single day.

They start as star stuff. Atoms upon atoms all colliding excitedly, a light show and concerto all at once. 

There are no names for what they are but they are many and they are all different, even the ones born at the same time from the same star. 

He is a solemn D note ringing in the air. He is not young, but not old, an in-between that is all potential and he shines brighter than his brothers. It is a blue spectrum of shine that would make oceans jealous. There is depth like a trench in the light and he feels the fissure like trapped air bubbling under everything he is

He is a chord, stronger than the rest. A weathered green light that smells like rain will. The thundering beat of his core keeps him from collapsing into something heavier and sadder but he doesn't know the words for longing yet. There is a gentle wave around him that radiates heat but does not suffocate. 

He is cradled into solidity, and there is light unlike any other. He can no longer hear his brothers and he wails.

(A child is born crying but not knowing why.)

Lukas is a happy child, a giggling baby that smiles more than he frowns and his mother is thankful for that. Growing up is not a chore, it is an adventure but Lukas doesn't remember the stars until he looks up at the sky.

Bastian is serious with an energy that more often than not lands him in trouble. He does not look to the sky for answers but keeps his eyes on the ground, on his feet with the ball that will lead him to great places.

*

Bastian has had more lives than Lukas but has relatively stayed in the same area of Europe and if he skips over some graves carefully when the family buries his great-grandfather, well he doesn't remember why.

He won't remember the stabbing, the hunger, the lonely days waiting for a husband that will not come back from the war. He has a hard time with his history class in school. It makes him dizzy and one time, learning about the Franco-Prussian war he gets nauseous enough to be sent to the nurse. They think it is the light in that particular wing of the building.

The feeling doesn't get better but it is easier to handle by the time he is older in a different school. Bastian's stomach does a weak lurch when he sees Kaiser Wilhelm the second stare at him out of his textbook. He closes the book and gets lunch instead of studying.

*

Lukas is very good with languages. He is quick with a greeting or a thank you and he doesn't think it is anything special. He is already a child of two different nations and always stutters with the polish syllables rolling around his head so what is a mismatch of useful little words in another language going to prove?

He doesn't know it is the first time he wrangles with Polish words and it is his own doubts that stops him from pursuing the other languages.

If Italian slides right into place after moving to Milan and he doesn't realize his accent falls away at times, Lukas chalks it up to luck. Mattia asks him to pass the salt one time during a dinner and he is busy talking to Mancini but grabs the little container and blinks as he hands it over. Mattia says thanks without pause and continues eating.

"Prego." He says faintly, not sure how he registered the request while concentrating on his conversation. He shrugs.

*

When they meet, it is not fireworks but quiet contentment. Lukas can sleep easier even if he has always had trouble getting to sleep in strange beds and he doesn't mind spending time in the room with Bastian instead of being out exploring the local scene. 

Their teamwork is a dream and Lukas find himself daydreaming of all they will accomplish with the National Team. He dreams of Bastian with blue eyes and then it is not Bastian at all, but a little boy who takes his hand as they look for crabs on the beach. When he wakes up, he asks Bastian if he likes seafood.

Bastian likes Lukas' eyes, they remind him of sparkling coast he has never seen but imagined enough times to feel it is real somewhere in the world, and he is a little in love with watching Lukas laugh obnoxiously filling his eyes with mirth. His smile is too wide for his mouth and he wonders why anyone would ever want to make Lukas sad.

*

They don't mention that when they kiss for the first time in this life, Bastian's eyes are shiny with unshed tears. He is happy and sad and completely confused about it. It is like coming home after a storm, the fireplace warm and spreading a soft glow on everything and he knows Lukas is the only one who can make him feel that way. 

*

When Lukas leaves Germany, his thoughts are mostly on Bastian and he doesn't know when Germany meant Basti, Basti, Basti instead of Koln and family and the memories of his childhood. His wallet is filled with pictures of Louis and Monika but there was one picture of Bastian and him, wrinkled around the corners and a bit faded. They were laughing at something Arne had said or maybe they had heard a joke from one of the trainers. He couldn't remember anymore but somehow it ended up in his things after the world cup at home.

He had written a note to himself on the back: _Don't forget, to get back up after loss is tougher than maintaining victory._

Landing in London, he texts Basti that airport coffee is shit. Bastian calls him back and teases him. "Do you miss me already?" Lukas pauses to haul his bags onto the escalator and smiles even if Basti can't see his face. 

"Of course, who else is going to listen to me complain?" 

*

Brazil feels natural to him. The people are welcoming and the staff at the camp don't mind him practicing his sparse vocabulary with them. He is in love with the beaches and the warmth of the sun on his skin. He takes photographs of every single thing that happens because he knows it will probably be his last world cup. Miro was an exception not the rule. 

*

Bastian doesn't know what to make of the times his brain stops-stutters when Lukas is around. He just accepts it as part of Lukas' hold on him. They retire jointly and after they have their run of club wins, Basti is the one who comes out with a statement. He is not apologizing for the people he falls in love with, the relationships he's had over the years, he is only owning up to it. He gave everything to football and he wants to be honest as he leaves the career he built.

Lukas buys a house by the ocean and wakes up to Bastian wrapped up in the sheets and he doesn't reach for his phone to capture the moment because he will have a thousand memories of this from now on. 

He kisses him instead. He kisses him whenever he has the urge to snap a picture of Basti's face in the light of the Brazilian sun with his green eyes lit up in joy. He kisses him when they cook dinner. He kisses him under the stars on a walk along the beach and he doesn't think he will ever get tired of it.

There are some souls that just belong together through eternity.


End file.
